i have been seeing some hypnagogic imagery as i try to watch myself fall asleep. this morning they were the strongest yet, but still very slight, dim, far away....

i see a flash... an impression inside my minds eye of a still but living scene of what seems immediately to be a whole mexican family from the wild west era posing for a photo. i have the impression of seeing all sorts of details like ruffles, long dresses, dusty weather, & worn-out clothing but its the best they've got. my perspective is from beside where i think the photographer should stand, though i do not see him. there are children, women, & men up front. one particular man seems to be the focus of the whole group. they are in front of their home, & some (like the dominant male) are standing on the dirt ground while the others are on steps then finally the porch. i'd guess about 15 ppl in photo.

i lose awareness as i drift off trying to decifer what i'd seen. the trick is to not hold on..... i guess?

also, i had read that many people see still hypnagogic images & quite frankly i didn't believe it! but this was very still, tho seemingly aLIve, as though everyone was just holding very still. is this similar for other people's experience too?

sometimes lights in my eyes go crazy, flashing & dancing. but other than that all the images are still like described above.

Hi - I have seen hypnagogic imagery for quite a while. This is how it progressed for me -

1. Initially I would see swirling colors, very intense almost neon. They would swirl and flow. At other times it was just black but had moving patterns.2. Then it evolved from the colors into still images. The images usually formed of their own accord from the color swirls. Sometimes they would slowly emerge from the blackness. It's fun to see what is going to happen.3. Finally they became like watching a video or movie, and lots of times they repeat - the EXACT same thing.

I have found however that it is a very static process - some nights I still just see colors, sometimes just images, and if I'm lucky a very short "movie" - as in 5 sec. or so. About 50% of the time I see nothing.

I can relate to your statement about them sometimes being dim and faint, but yet you know what they are. Hard to explain. This happens a lot as well. Cool stuff.

i will really try to hold onto awareness longer when i'm seeing those flashing lights. so far i haven't made it past that b4 i fall asleep. hoping those lights turn into images for me too. & thnx for pointing out it changes & that i might not always see anything.

One more thing in response to your original post. I find that trying to figure out the images does cause them to fade. Trial and error - I've lost a lot of images doing that. In fact, all the imagery would just stop. Just let them happen and enjoy the show.

Yes, Miasnow, still images happen often, e.g. when I was a Christian I use to often see the eyes of those in purgatory looking at me as I begged for mercy from God for them, I also had a single red dot appear when I was clowning around staring at lamps and then closing my eyes to watch the afterimages.

Note: You're in light sleep when these images appear and as you're fully conscious this is actually a weak WILD. Those images are actually light dreams or non-rem sleep dreams. One thinks one is not asleep because one can move ones body or open ones eyes to wake up. Sleep paralysis is the next stage and it's normally experienced as just a dream image and does not normally last any longer than it takes for water that's turned on to hit the basin of the sink. Once one crosses over SP the dream images become much for fluid, dynamic and complex and one can't wake up at will with any certainty of success.

"There is only one God and his name is Death.And there is only one thing we say to death "not today"- Syrio Forel